Sports ramblings…with a Yankees bias!

Results tagged ‘ Matt Diaz ’

Life has been incredibly difficult since the Yankees, expectedly, lost to the Detroit Tigers in the play-offs last October. While the Angels were adding Josh Hamilton to go with Albert Pujols and Mike Trout and the Dodgers were adding Zack Greinke to go with Clayton Kershaw, the Yankees did nothing. Okay, they did fork over the cash to bring back senior citizens Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda, but there was nothing to excite the fan base.

Excite the fan base…

Why is that so difficult? So, we watch Russell Martin leave for the 2013 version of the 1950’s Kansas City A’s…the Pittsburgh Pirates. No worries, rather than chase a proven catcher like A.J. Pierzynski, the Yankees announced that they’ll go with an in-house candidate. So, that leaves a career back-up, a AAA catcher last year, and a minor leaguer who missed most of last season due to injury. Nick Swisher leaves, but no worry, we have an aging 39-year-old former great player in Ichiro Suzuki who is now sporting more gray hair than Bill Clinton and was clearly a player on decline until a brief renaissance after his trade to the Yankees.

Last year’s closer, Rafael Soriano, departs so what is the response? We have ace set up man David Robertson returning and a rehabilitating former closer in David Aardsma on the roster. If memory serves, Robertson was not effective during his brief stint as closer following Mariano Rivera’s season-ending injury. Plus, Rivera is a not-so-young 43 years old. He is a first ballot Hall of Famer and my favorite Yankee for a number of years, but time is destined to catch up with even the greatest.

The bench strength (Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez) depart, and the Yankees answer by signing former rival Kevin Youkilis and role player Matt Diaz. I sent a picture of a clean shaven Youkilis to a Red Sox friend asking if this was really THE Kevin Youkilis (as he looks so less intimidating than those goatee’d Red Sox years). The response was, “I hear he’s hurt (oblique)…yes, that’s him”. The only thing I know about Diaz is that he pronounces his name DYE-az rather than DEE-az. All I ever saw him as was a part-timer for the Atlanta Braves.

We go to camp and the calendar doesn’t even turn to March before we hear that Curtis Granderson is lost for 10 weeks due to a broken forearm. Immediately, the response from the Yankees is that they’ll cover the loss in-house. Believe me, I get the reasons for why you wouldn’t chase down Alfonso Soriano or Vernon Wells for 10 measly weeks but Granderson represented a major part of the team’s offense. You KNOW that Mark Teixera’s bat won’t show up until at least June. Derek Jeter is another year older and coming off injury. The outfield is full of those Dave Collins type players…speed first, light hitting outfielders. It’s too bad that Billy Martin isn’t around to consult with Joe Girardi on the fine art of small ball.

My trust in the Yankees farm system to produce a quality major league starter is weak at best. We hear how great Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances are, yet now we sit with Banuelos recovering from Tommy John surgery and Betances proving himself to be Prince Overrated. I look at guys like Al Leiter and Doug Drabek. They struggled when called up to the Yankees but prospered as quality major leaguers elsewhere. It has been awhile since a Jeter or Robinson Cano burst onto the scene. So, my faith in the minor league system producing a surprise that immediately helps the Yankees this year is weak.

Today, the news comes out through GM Brian Cashman that the Yankees did make a significant offer to free agent to be Robinson Cano. Given that the news didn’t say the Yankees actually signed Cano, I see this as a negative move. If there is resistance on the player’s front, this is most likely going to lead to Cano’s free agency in the fall. With Hal Steinbrenner’s “financially responsible” approach, that most likely means that some other team makes an incredibly ridiculous offer to snatch Cano from the Bronx.

For the entire off-season, I was hopeful the Yankees would invest in a young, promising outfielder who, at the very least, could fill a fourth outfielder role but with the potential to be a future regular. Alas, it was not meant to be. So, it only added salt into the wound with today’s news that CF/LF Curtis Granderson will miss ten weeks with a fractured forearm.

I guess this temporarily puts an end to speculation about whether or not Brett Gardner will move to center. For now, the job is his, so the focus will be on left field. As it stands, the frontrunners are Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera, but that’s not going to cast fear in anyone’s heart except for maybe Joe Girardi and the fans. It would be wonderful if Zoilo Almonte could become the spring phenom and break camp as the starting left fielder but that’s probably asking a bit much for a AA player.

If the Yankees had a stronger young shortstop, it might be time to try the new guard at short and move Derek Jeter to left. But I don’t think Angelo Gumbs or Cito Culver are anywhere close, and I wouldn’t move Jeter for Eduardo Nunez. With the possibility that this is the last season in New York for free agent to be Granderson, the day will come when Jeter needs to vacate short if he intends to keep playing and left field is the most natural fit.

I am not in favor of the Yankees overpaying for a 10-week rental like Alfonso Soriano or Vernon Wells even if their respective current teams are willing to foot the bill for the majority of monies still owed to those players. Yes, there’s part of me that wouldn’t mind seeing Soriano come back home, but I am not sure that either of those players would be the answer. As it was, the Yankees were talking about scoring fewer runs in 2013 than they did last year. I guess that gulf just widened, which puts more pressure on the Yankees starting rotation.

GM Brian Cashman won’t make a knee-jerk reaction to find a replacement, but I am hopeful that he’ll come up with a low cost acquisition to help bridge the loss until Grandy returns in May.

Fun times in the Bronx…or should I say in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field…

Is #36 the batboy?…

I cannot get used to seeing Kevin Youkilis without his goatee. He looks like such a boy without the trademark facial hair. I know that he hasn’t always gone unshaven in Boston, but he simply looks smaller, younger, and less fearful than I remember him as a Red Sock. Let’s hope that plate discipline and the reputation as the Greek God of Walks still remains. Personally, I wish that the former Sock could have gotten a better number than #36 but as long as Youk’s happy, I am happy. I don’t know the Yankees’ plans for Jorge Posada’s #20 but I would have given it to Youk. But if that number is untouchable, I probably would have gone something cool in the higher numbers like #72 or #99. As a fan of Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle, I would have taken #74.

The Oscars…

I finally watched Argo this weekend. It is a very good movie. I was in Air Force basic training when the hostages were captured in Iran, so it brought back memories. I knew that the writers took creative license to make the movie very dramatical, but regardless, the rescue of those specific hostages were very significant. The Canadians deserve more credit than they were given, but it was an intense moment in American history and Ben Affleck did an tremendous job in re-telling the story.

Jack Nicholson is out now to present the Best Picture on the Oscars. My gut tells me that it will be Lincoln. I thought it was a good movie, but it wasn’t, in my opinion, great. So, regardless of who wins, any of the losers were certainly deserving of the win. So, the winner is…

A great Yankees career has come to an end with the retirement of former outfielder Hideki Matsui. It has been gone from the Bronx for a few years but he’s certainly not forgotten. When he arrived in 2003, he immediately attracted the attention of New York. He had been well hyped as a Japanese superstar, and of course, everywhere he went, he was followed by a large pack of Japanese reporters.

As I remember his great career and those key clutch hits, I recall his Yankee Stadium debut in April 2003. I remember it was a day game, and while home for lunch (I was in a West Coast time zone), I had turned on DirecTV in time to watch “Godzilla” hit a grand slam in the 5th inning that powered the Yanks to a 7-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. If memory serves correctly, it was a gray day and Matsui’s shot was one of those line drives that kept going (it wasn’t a booming shot that you knew had been parked from the start).

He finished his Yankees career as the MVP of the 2009 World Series. Time and again, he came up with the crucial big hits, and seemed to excel against the Yankees’ key rival, the Boston Red Sox. As a Yankee, he hit 140 home runs with 597 RBI’s. Including his 10 years in Japan and major leagues together, he hit 507 home runs. He represented the Yankees with the grace and dignity that he had with his prior organization, the Yomiuri Giants. I wish there had been room on the Yankees roster for Matsui the last few years but sadly it was not meant to be. He may have subsequently worn the uniform of the Angels, A’s and Rays, but he will forever be a Yankee. I am hopeful he will return for future Old Timer’s games at the Stadium as he is now engrained as part of the Yankees history and lore.

Where’s Paul O’Neill when you need him…

While I have always liked outfielder Matt Diaz as a role player, it’s hard to be enthused about his arrival in the Bronx. With no other additions, there’s a huge drop-off from former Yankees rightfielder and now Cleveland Indian Nick Swisher to Diaz. The Yankees are banking a great deal that Ichiro Suzuki will be the player he was in pinstripes last year and not the Seattle Mariners version earlier in the season. Inevitably, as Matsui showed, there is a time when the ability to execute simply erodes with the passage of time and age. Given that Matsui is, in fact, younger than Ichiro shows that Ichiro is on borrowed time. I know his superior conditioning has much to do with his late career continued success, but Matsui was no slouch when it came to physical conditioning. I remain hopeful that GM Brian Cashman is able to bring a young outfielder with strong upside before spring training starts. Yes, it’s easier said than done, but he’s done it before and can do it again.

Well, 2012 is rapidly coming to a close and it will soon be 2013. Only January stands between now and the arrival of the Yankees in Tampa for spring training. So close, yet so far away. Hopefully, the Yankees will do something to enthuse the fan base in the coming days…

Maybe GM Brian Cashman has the perfect solution already set in motion, but then again, maybe not.I am not quite sure how you could spend $200 million on salaries and then suddenly become very frugal over $3 or $4 million as an insurance policy to protect your investment.From the sounds of it, the Yankees are willing to go to camp with Brett Gardner and Jamie Hoffmann as a projected platoon in left.I know that it’s a bluff, designed to await the lowered salary expectations of free agent options in January.

But if you have a left fielder who has proven that he can handle New York, thrive atop the Yankees’ batting order and carries the intangibles necessary to bring a championship to New York, why can’t you work out a deal for a few pennies more?It just doesn’t make any sense.I agree with the logic that the Yankees don’t need a superstar in left, but they need something better than a fourth outfielder looking for his fifteen minutes of fame.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

If the Yankees successfully cause Johnny Damon to sign elsewhere, and are left to be scrounging through the bargain bin, they’ll regret it in July when they attempt to make a trade for an upgrade at the high cost of key prospects.Again, I’d rather pay more now and protect the farm system now and later.

John M. Setzler, Jr.

I was disappointed to see the San Francisco Giants successfully sign one solid option in Mark DeRosa.With DeRosa, the Giants get a very versatile player who will fit well into their lineup.His ability to play third base allows them to slide Pablo Sandoval to first which fills a big need.Had the Yankees been successful in luring DeRosa to the Bronx, he could have been the primary option for left field with the potential to back up Alex Rodriguez from time to time.Isn’t that worth a few dollars more?Congrats to Giants GM Brian Sabean…he scored one over his former team.

Jeff Roberson/AP

If Johnny Damon is my first choice, Xavier Nady would be the remaining option in my eyes.Another guy who has proven he can handle New York albeit not the injury bug.If healthy, Nady would be a great fit for the Yankees.Prior to his injury last season, he was slated to be the starter in right field.

Cataffo/New York Daily News

Outside of the organization, there just isn’t much to be excited about on the free agent market.I really don’t want a ‘past his prime’ player like Brian Giles or Garret Anderson.I’d rather take a chance on a sleeper like Cleveland’s Shin Soo Choo or Atlanta’s Matt Diaz, although I doubt either team would be willing to let either player go cheaply.In a blast from the past, the Angels’ Juan Rivera is another attractive option.But I seriously doubt that Cashman would be able to pry any of these options from their respective teams.

Los Angeles Times

Hopefully, the left field question is answered sooner rather than later.The Yankees still need to replenish their bullpen options for 2010 after several key departures this off-season.Plus, bench strength is another area that needs attention before the Yankees head for Tampa.

In a departure from baseball, I’d like to weigh in on the decision by Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell to rest his key starters like Peyton Manning in the second half.Everyone knows that the result was a New York Jets’ 29-15 victory over the Colts to end their pursuit of perfection.Of course, the company line is the decision was made to protect the health of their key performers and ensure going deeper into the play-offs with the Super Bowl as the key objective.

I’ve heard both sides of the argument, but I am inclined to believe that Caldwell blew it.He had a chance to do something that no team has done before (19-0, capped by a championship).The 1972 Miami Dolphins were 17-0 since the regular season consisted of only 14 games.Had they accomplished what the New England Patriots could not, the Colts would have gone down in history as one of the greatest teams ever.Now, they’ll just be another Super Bowl champion if they happen to win it all.Sure, a championship is great, but to be among legends is immortal.The Colts missed a great opportunity…

AP

All things considered, I am glad that University of Florida coach Urban Meyer made the decision to take a leave of absence rather than step down as the Gators coach.College football needs guys like Meyer, but he needs time to repair his health.If a year from now, Meyer decides that it’s time to hang it up, so be it.But I’d rather see Florida go a year with an interim coach to make sure that Meyer makes a decision that he’ll never regret.I am not a Gators fan, but Meyer has been great for college football and the Florida job is clearly one of the best.It’ll be strange seeing new coaches patrolling the sidelines at both Florida and Florida State next season.

One final thought…if the Chicago Cubs can successfully trade Milton Bradley, why can’t the Yankees unload Kei Igawa?I still think the guy could thrive in a low-pressure environment like San Diego or Pittsburgh…

I hope everyone has a great new year!I have enjoyed your friendship and support in 2009 and I look forward to be being a part of the great MLB Bloggers in 2010.It’s a very talented and impressive group of writers, and the sum total of all makes MLB.com the best blogging environment on the internet!Keep up the great work everyone!

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